‘Material World’ – exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre

Material World – from materials to new architecture.
Our ability to constantly develop and use existing materials in new ways while continuously creating brand new ones has been essential to the way architecture has changed its form, expression and style over the centuries. Today, advanced material research and development has become a complex branch of science focusing on financial, resource-related and environmental sustainability.With the exhibition MATERIAL WORLD – from materials to new architecture, we invite visitors to explore the world of materials and shows how new ways of employing materials help promote sustainable development in the construction industry as well as develop and renew architecture through new surfaces, new expressions and new experiences.At the exhibition, one can look at, touch and explore the qualities and properties of 100 different materials split into five categories: strong, lightweight, green, smart and transparent materials. Furthermore, the exhibition offers 12 life-sized building segments and tells the stories of some of the buildings, in Denmark and abroad, that have been made possible thanks to the materials.

For instance, the Herzog & de Meuron Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg has a new kind of concrete decks with hollow plastic balls cast into the concrete making the material 30 % lighter than ordinary concrete. These light decks have made it possible to build an extension on top of a 100-year-old storehouse. Furthermore, glass has been used in an entirely novel way to create the unique façade of the building.

And at the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica, one of the most demanding building projects ever undertaken, the extreme cold is kept out by high-insulation windows filled with nanogel originally developed for the space industry.Material manufacturers, researchers, engineers and architects are continuously developing the properties and potentials of materials, and the exhibition presents some of the most recent results of this research. For instance, visitors can view the TailorCrete project and discover how the Danish Technological Institute employs robotics to develop new uses for concrete. Or they can find out about Arup’s algae façade system producing biomass on the surface of the building and turning it into energy. This algae façade is one example of the way the construction industry develops new materials that will reduce energy consumption in our buildings.

Material World has been developed by the Danish Architecture Centre in collaboration with the GXN Innovation Unit of Danish architectural firm 3XN. Furthermore, we have had help from a number of strategic partners, and Danish and international material manufacturers have kindly provided us with mock-ups and samples.

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